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Texas mom gets 99 years for beating girl

Mother glued toddler's hands to a wall

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske McClatchy-Tribune

Posted:
10/12/2012 11:28:05 PM MDT

Updated:
10/12/2012 11:34:29 PM MDT

HOUSTON -- A Dallas judge sentenced a young mother to 99 years in prison Friday after she admitted to gluing her toddler's hands to a wall and beating the girl so severely she ended up in a coma, officials said.

"We're very happy with the judge's decision," Debbie Denmon, spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney's office, told the Los Angeles Times.

Judge Larry Mitchell told the mother, Elizabeth Escalona, that his decision came down to the fact that "you savagely beat your child to the edge of death," according to the Dallas Morning News, which live-tweeted coverage of the sentencing.

Escalona, 23, pleaded guilty July 12 to injury to a child. Prosecutor Eren Price had sought a 45-year sentence, while Escalona had hoped for probation. The judge, however, nearly doubled the prosecution's recommendation, citing the brutality of the attacks.

"The prosecutor said Escalona wasn't sorry for what she did. She was sorry for herself, not the child she tortured," Denmon said. "Her children now have a chance to lead a productive life."

Escalona will have to serve 30 years before she becomes eligible for parole, Denmon said.

Escalona's attorney did not return calls Friday morning. She told those at the court she plans to appeal the sentence, Denmon said.

During the sentencing hearing, which started Monday, Escalona took the stand in her own defense, admitted that she abused her 2-year-old daughter Jocelyn Cedillo and pleaded for leniency.

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"I hit her, I kicked her constantly and she didn't deserve that," Escalona said, confirming that she used a Super Glue-like substance to glue the girl's hands to the wall, according to the Dallas Morning News. But, she added, "I want everybody to know that I'm not a monster. I love my kids."

Escalona, a mother of five, said she was molested, abused by boyfriends, and was a recovering marijuana and cocaine addict. She was raising her children on child support payments in a one-bedroom apartment with bed bugs, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The prosecutor painted Escalona as cruel and calculating, posting the word "Liar" on a screen behind Escalona's head during cross-examination, forcing Escalona to look at photos of her injured daughter and count the bruises she inflicted.

Escalona has admitted to becoming so frustrated with Jocelyn's "potty training issue" on Sept. 7, 2011, that she glued the toddler to the wall of their apartment and beat her, according to testimony at sentencing hearings which started Monday.

Escalona called her mother, crying and hysterical, according to police records. The older woman found Jocelyn unresponsive on the floor beside a bed in her daughter's northwest Dallas apartment and rushed Jocelyn to a hospital. The girl survived and is now living with Escalona's mother, Ofelia Escalona, who testified on her daughter's behalf.

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